Bible Study Guide

1. NEW COVENANT CHURCH, NIGERIA
SOUTH-WEST REGION
WORD CONFERENCE 2022
October 15, 2022
THEME:
LET US PRAY
MINISTERING
Rev. Olufemi Oyelade
Deputy General Overseer
@ New Covenant Church
Ijokodo Camp Ground, Ibadan.

2. 1
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Prayer Ministry vs Church
1.2 Prayer Specialist (OT vs NT)
1.3. Private Prayer vs Public Prayer
2. TEXT
Matthew 6:5-15 NKJV
[5] “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they
love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets,
that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their
reward.
[6] But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut
your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father
who sees in secret will reward you openly.
[7] And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do.
For they think that they will be heard for their many words.
[8] “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you
have need of before you ask Him.
[9] In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be
Your name.
[10] Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
[11] Give us this day our daily bread.
[12] And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.
[13] And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
[14] “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will
also forgive you.
[15] But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your
Father forgive your trespasses.
3. RELATIONSHIP
3.1 To Whom do we pray?
.... To God the father!
"... In this manner, therefore pray, "Our Father in heaven..... "
Matthew 6:9
NOTES

3. 2
3.2 Prayer is not a function of NOISE, VOCABULARY or
VOLUME
3.3. Prayer is not a function of your Gender, Calendar Age or
Spiritual Age
3.4. Prayer is not a function of your posture, physical position or
gymnastics.
3.5. Prayer is not a function of Place (i.e. where you pray) (John
4:21-24)
3.6. PRAYER IS A FUNCTION OF YOUR
RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.
3.7. We pray to God the Father. Therefore, God must be your
father, that is, you must be a child of God- You must be born -
again.
3.8 Your public prayer is a reflection of your private (closet)
prayer life and a measure of your relationship with God
3.9. "OUR FATHER” - You are not the only child of God. Have
a good relationship not only with God but also with your
spiritual siblings.... other Christians.
4. FELLOWSHIP
4.1 for your father knows the things you have need of before you ask
him." (v8)
4.2. God knows what you need before you ask so why pray?
4.3 God knows what you need even before you ask, yet He
wants you to come to Him in prayer to forge a CONTINUOUS
RELATIONSHIP and FELLOWSHIP with Him
4.4 CLOSET
-A time of personal communion with God.
- DAILY (Psalm 55:17)
- PREFERABLY FIRST THING IN THE DAY (Psalm
63:1) (Mark 1:35) (Exodus 20:3)
-IF POSSIBLE, IN A DESIGNATED PLACE (Luke 22 39)
NOTES

4. 3
-A PLACE YOU CAN HAVE PRIVACY & NO
DISTRACTION (Mark 1:35)
45 PRAYER: Way out or Way of Life? - Prayer Life or Life
of Prayer?
4.6 THREE POSSIBLE REASONS FOR PRAYER
-DESIRE (Matthew 7:7)
- DUTY (1 Samuel 12:23)
- DELIGHT (Psalm 42:1)
4.7 PRAYER ETIQUETTE
- Respect for the Father
- Talking During Prayer
- Fidgeting or Distractions
-God deserves our undivided attention and reverence in
Prayer
5 IS YOUR LIFE PLEASING TO GOD?
5.1 You cannot force God to answer your prayers if He does not
like you.
5.2 You cannot force Him to like you by praying
5.3 1 John 3:22
And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His
commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.
5.4. 1 Samuel 25:35
So David received from her hand what she had brought him, and said
to her, “Go up in peace to your house. See, I have heeded your voice
and respected your person.”
5.5. Exodus 32:10
Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against
them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great
nation.”
NOTES

5. 4
6. HIS WILL
6.1 what should we pray for?
6.2 "Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven"
(Mathew 6:10)
6.3 We need to pray for God's will. It is only a prayer that is His
will, that God answers (1 John 5:14-15)
6.4 Prayer can be answered
- GRUDGINGLY by God (Psalm 106:15)
- DELIGHTFULLY by God (Proverbs 15:8)
6.5 How do we KNOW GOD’S WILLL?
-Through his word - (John 15:7)
- Through this voice - (Jeremiah 33:3; Eph. 5:17)
6.6 DIALOGUE not MONOLOGUE
6.6.1 Prayer is a dialogue not a monologue.
-In prayer, you commune with God.
-You engage in conversation with your heavenly Father. He
speaks, you speak
6.6.2 You need to allow God to speak first to let you know what
to pray for
In a telephone discussion, you wait for the ring tone to change to
a voice on the other end before you proceed to speak
- Moses waited for God to speak before he could enter His
presence (Exodus 24:15-16)
- God spoke before Abraham started interceding (Gen
18:17-23)
6.6.3 When you are in God’s Presence, do not be HASTY and
do not be too ASSUMING
6.6.4 ENQUIRE ABOUT YOUR DESIRE
Jeremiah 33:3
NOTES

6. 5
7. FAITH
7.1) The wing of Prayer is Faith
7.2) Mark 11:24 “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you
ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will
have them.”
PRAYER → FAITH → RECEIVING ANSWER
7.3. Faith is like a seed (Luke 17:6). It has a life in it. If planted
in the right environment, faith will bring results.
74. It is about FAITH not FORCE
7.5. CLASSES OF FAITH
7.5.1. Believing (Mark 11:24)
7.5.2. Knowing (1 John 5:14-15, Genesis 15:6,8)
7.5.3. "But if not" (Daniel 3:8)
8. PERSUASION
8.1. FOUR PARTIES IN PRAYER
- The Judge - God (Hebrews 12:23)
- The Advocate - Jesus (1 John 2:1)
- The Accuser - Satan (Revelation 12:10)
- The Petitioner - You, the Christian (Philippians 4:6)
8.2 Prayer is about persuasion, proving your case, making it
almost impossible for God to say "NO".
8.3 Isaiah 41:21
8.4 Genesis 32:9-12
8.5 Rather than shout to pull the crowd or impress the judge, we
present our case in a way that will help our Advocate to plead for
us.
8.6 Attack the main problem and the little problems will flee e.g.
the Philistines fled after Goliath was killed (1 Samuel 17:51)
8.7 We do not stop making our supplication until we have an
answer. It is useless jumping from case to case without getting
Judgement, just because we are facing multiple issues.
NOTES

7. 6
9. THE NAME OF JESUS
9.1 John 16:23
"And in that day you will ask me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you,
whatever you ask the father in My name He will give you"
9.2 We receive answers to our prayer because of the finished
work done by our Saviour Jesus, so we pray in Jesus' name.
9.3 The name Jesus is the seal of our prayer. It is like the
signature on the cheque. It is like the passcode that gives a
final authentication to our online bank transaction.
9.4 The name of Jesus is to be hallowed in prayer (Matthew
6:9). It should be accorded the honour it deserves. It is therefore
advisable to say the name of Jesus once at the end the prayer.
9.5 the name of Jesus is not a formular to be used at the
beginning of, or many times during a prayer. It is tantamount to
defacing your cheque by signing it many times.
9.6 The name of Jesus should be hallowed in prayer.
10. PRAYER OF INTERCESSION
10.1 Inter - Between
Ceed - Go
An intercessor is a "go-between"
He stands in place of the one being prayed for
10.2 Jesus now intercedes for us by sitting on the right side of
the father as God and man. He reminds the father of His
sacrifice and pleads for us (Hebrews 7: 25)
10:3 The Holy Spirit also makes intercession for us (Romans
8:26)
10.4 Praying in Tongues
11 SPIRITUAL WARFARE
11.1 "We wrestle......." (Ephesians 6:12)
11.2 A born-again christian is a soldier enlisted into God's army
(2 Timothy 2:3-4)
NOTES

8. 7
11.3 However, we are engaged in a war that Jesus already fought
and won on our behalf (Colossians 2:14-15)
11.4 Our responsibility is to enforce the victory won by Jesus
and appropriate the spoils of war.... enjoy the benefits of Jesus'
Victory (2 Corinthians 2:14)
11.5 Luke 22:31 As a child of God, Satan cannot attack you
without God knowing about it. If you need to inform God that
Satan attacked you, then you are in trouble.
You must be outside God's will and location - you need to first
repent and retrace your steps.
11.6 SPEAKING TO THE DEVIL
When Satan attacks you, ignore him and pray to God the Father,
and He will rebuke the devil. God will send angels to deal with
your enemy (Daniel 10:10-14)
11.7 The only exception is if you are praying for someone who
is possessed by demons and the person is physically before you,
you can command the demon to leave, in Jesus name. This is
Commonly referred to as "deliverance" (Matthew 17:18)
11.8 BACK TO SENDER
Anytime you place or transfer a curse, you get more than the
recipient, as your mouth becomes a channel for cursing. This is
an own goal. You become a double agent (of God and Satan).
You invite Satan to anoint your tongue for cursing. Psalm
109:17
11.9 Many times, it is not lack of prayer that is our problem, but
concentration on Satan
11.10 WHO DO WE TALK TO IN PRAYER?
11.10.1 God (Matthew 6:9)
(John 16:23)
11.10.2 Satan (Matthew 17:18, Luke 8:29)
11.10.3 Circumstances (Mark 11:23)
(“This Mountain”)
NOTES

9. 8
11.10.4 People (Isaiah 3:10)
(“Prophesying”)
11.10.5 Yourself (Psalm 118:17)
(“Confession”)
11.11 HOW DO WE WRESTLE? (Ephesians 6:13)
11.11.1 Ephesians 6:10-18
11.11.2 i) By Putting on our Armour, and
ii) By Taking our Stand
11.11.3 THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD
1) HELMET OF SALVATION
- Head
- Salvation
- The target of the enemy in spiritual warfare is
your salvation
2) Breastplate of Righteousness
- Chest
- Righteousness – Right Standing
– Right Doing
- 2 Corinthians 10:6
3) Belt of Truth
- Loins/Waist
- Standing on the side of truth – Always
- John 8:44
4) SHOES
- Feet
- Preparation of the Gospel of Peace
- Warfare in furtherance of the Gospel –
establishing the Lordship of Jesus Christ
NOTES

10. 9
- The warfare should ultimately bring peace
5) SHIELD OF FAITH
- Hand-held
- Defensive
- To quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one
6) SWORD OF THE SPIRIT
- Hand-held
- The Word of God : Knowing the word of God in
your spirit
- Both Defensive & Offensive
7) ALL PRAYER & SUPPLICATION IN THE SPIRIT
A – I – M
A: ARMOUR
I: INFORMATION
- Lord, what is happening?
- How did the devil come in?
- Joshua 4:6-12
M: METHOD
- Strategy to secure victory
- Lord, what should I do?
- Joshua 7:13
- 1 Samuel 29:8
- MAN : Spirit
: Soul
: Body
- Praying with our spirit (Praying in Tongues)
: John 4:24
: Proverbs 20:7
NOTES

11. 10
* Bypasses your soul; overcoming human/natural
weaknesses/limitations
* Enhances Dialogue - You speak to God
- God speaks to you
- Praying in the Spirit is indispensable in Prayer and
in Spiritual warfare
8. Being Watchful
- Watch and Pray (Matthew 26:41)
9. Taking Our Stand
- Maintaining your ground
- Not yielding to the enemy through fear or mis-step
- Resting by Faith in the finished work of the Cross
12. CORPORATE PRAYER
12.1 Three levels of God's power manifested in prayer:
12.1.1 POWER of ONE (Job 22:27-28)
Individual Prayer
12.1.2 POWER of TWO (Matthew 18: 19)
Prayer of Agreement
12.1.3 POWER OF THE CHURCH (Matthew 16:18)
Corporate Prayer
12.2 There is tremendous power in the corporate prayer of the
Church, if they pray the will of God.
12.3 In Acts 4:24-31, the Corporate prayer was recorded because
one person prayed and the rest agreed. It is like someone writes a
petition and hundreds Sign it.
NOTES

12. 11
12.4 AMEN - means "I agree" or "Let it be" and it is an
indication of unity of mind of those present at the prayer meeting
- Amen is not a mystic. It has no power. It sanctions what you
have said. You don't have to say AMEN several times.
12.5 FOLLY OF A PRAYER LEADER
12.5.1 Someone leads prayer from the front by dictating to us
what we should be saying to the Lord
12.5.2 He keeps on talking to us over the loud speaker, while he
expects us to be holding a serious. Conversation with God.
1. Very distracting to those praying, and 2. disrespectful to God.
12.5.3 Then abruptly, he commands us to stop talking to God on
that issue, by shouting "In Jesus name we pray." At this time,
many in the congregation have not concluded their prayer. He
then shouts out more topics to pray about.
12.5.4 PRAYER LEADER - Not a priest that represents us
before God but a leader that goes with us to God in prayer. In the
New Testament, every believer is a Priest as well as a King.
(Revelation 1:6)
-The Prayer Leader leads us before God who is the only one who
can answer our prayer – He is my God.
12.6 WHAT A PRAYER MEETING IS NOT
12.6.1 A Corporate Prayer Meeting is not a Bible Study so there
should not be too many scriptures.
12.6.2 A Corporate Prayer Meeting is not a Seminar so the
prayer leader Should not talk too much but inspire the people to
talk to God. I recommend 25-30% time of talking and 70-75%
time of praying.
12.7 RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE PRAYER LEADER
The Prayer Leader has a responsibility to seek the face of God in
the closet ahead to know what prayer the Father wants to
answer, so we could pray aright at the prayer meeting.
NOTES

13. 12
12.7.2 Find the scriptures backing up the prayer points ahead of
the prayer meeting.
12.7.3 Explain the prayer point and the relevant scriptures at the
meeting.
12.7:4 Ask one person or some persons, one after the other, to
present the corporate petitions to God on behalf of the group or
congregation.
12.7.5 The congregation choruses “Amen” after each one prays
to signify agreement to the prayers.
12.7.6 Corporate Prayer is like A Ladder (Genesis 28:12). Each
person who prays should take us further up the rung of the
ladder. One person’s faith inspires the next to a higher level.
Finally, one person prays through. Then we can move to the
next topic.
12.7.7 It is advisable not to have too many prayer points at a
prayer meeting. It is better to exhaust and pray through on a
few prayer points than take multiple prayer points that the
congregation can not do justice to in the limited time of the
prayer meeting.
NOTES

14. 13
12.8 CORPORATE PRAYER vs INDIVIDUAL PRAYER
IN A CORPORATE SETTING
12.9 PRAYER ETIQUETTE
- Don’t do any other thing like searching for Bible Passages or
reading your notes while all of us are praying.
- Hold the microphone in an appropriate way.
12.10 CONCLUSION
12.10.1 Acts 4:23-31, Acts 5:12
12.10.2 James 5:13-16
12.10.3 Heavens can move on behalf of the earth when the
church prays.
12.10.4 “The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man
makes tremendous power available - dynamic in its working.” James
5:16(b) Amplified.
NOTES